West Virginia House Bill HB2388

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/14/25
• Refer: 2/14/25
• Refer: 2/24/25

Caption

Exclude workers of a ski area operators from maximum hour requirements

Summary

House Bill 2388 amends West Virginia’s wage-and-hour law to create a new exemption for seasonal employees of ski area operators. Specifically, it adds “ski area operator” to the list of employee exclusions for purposes of the state’s maximum hour and overtime-related requirements, but only when the seasonal employee works less than seven months in a calendar year. The bill also defines “ski area operator” to include persons or entities with operational responsibility for a ski area or aerial passenger tramway. The measure is narrowly focused on the maximum hours provisions of Article 5C and does not change the state minimum wage itself. Its practical effect would be to relieve ski resorts and related operators from state maximum-hour obligations for qualifying seasonal workers, aligning ski-area treatment with existing exemptions already in law for certain seasonal workers such as commercial whitewater outfitters and amusement parks.

Impact

If enacted, HB2388 would amend West Virginia Code §21-5C-1, the definitions section of the state’s minimum wage and maximum hour standards law. The bill would expand the statutory list of workers excluded from the definition of “employee” for maximum-hour purposes by adding seasonal ski area workers who work less than seven months in a year. This would affect ski area operators, seasonal resort staff, and the Labor Commissioner’s enforcement of state hour-limit rules, while leaving other wage-and-hour protections in place.

Sentiment

The available context suggests the bill is a targeted, industry-specific adjustment rather than a broad labor-policy change. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the supplied materials. The bill’s caption and note indicate a straightforward purpose: to exempt ski area seasonal workers from maximum hour requirements, implying a generally practical or supportive framing from the sponsors.

Contention

The main policy issue is whether seasonal ski workers should be treated like other seasonal recreational workers already exempted from maximum-hour rules, such as amusement park and whitewater outfitter employees. Potential concerns would likely come from labor advocates or worker-protection interests, who may view the change as reducing overtime or hour-limit protections for a seasonal workforce. On the other side, ski area operators would likely support the bill as a way to match staffing practices to the seasonal nature of the industry and to reduce compliance burdens.